


Going North

by CrescentViolett



Category: Original Work
Genre: Animals, Desert, Dystopia, Friendship, Gen, IN SPACE!, Journey, Landscape, New World, Oasis, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Prompt Fic, Warm, original creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25632412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrescentViolett/pseuds/CrescentViolett
Summary: Hamiex, a ten year old abandoned by his tribe, found a friend in one of the Phushade species. Naming it Phushi, the two formed a close bond over the years, so close the two considered each other family. Go along their journey to the north, where they find an uninviting and aggressive species along the way, only for the encounter to make their bond even closer.
Kudos: 4





	Going North

**Author's Note:**

> Original piece made for Red Zone Volume 2! I had to generate a world and in turn made it my own!  
> Here is the original prompt I was given (tl;dr see tags):  
> This planet has four major landmasses, the largest of which is centred between the equator and the north pole. It has an average surface temperature of about 68 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 20 degrees Celsius. Its average temperature has been rising over the last several millennia, and it experiences moderate levels of geological activity all over the planet. 

Sweat glistened against his hot skin, the sun bright in his eyes as it slowly sank down into the red sand. The light reflected something in the distance - and as he squinted his eyes he saw the desert make way for an oasis. His eyes widened as he smiled broadly at his companion.

"Phushi! Phushi , look! You think that's water?" Hamiex said.

The creature growled back , almost making a shrugging motion as they walked further . They were the most beautiful creature the boy had seen in his life. They were the same height, but the fact that Phushi was almost three times as broad as Hamiex made him always feel much smaller. Its back looked like a shield, protecting its neck and part of his legs, with a strong tail coming out of it. On the shield grew all sorts of plants, some of them Hamiex knew were plants where fruit would grow. He didn't know how it was possible for the creature to grow plants on their body, but every Phushade he had seen had plants on them. Hamiex couldn't wait for the plants to grow over the summer - it was his favourite time watching Phushi grow flowers and fruit all over their back; the colours were sometimes overwhelming when all he would see was red sand for months.

His mind reeled back to the task at hand. With one of his pouches in his hand he ran to the oasis, ready to fill it up with delicious water.

His companion looked around before moving on, their big feet sinking into the soft sand. Phushi watched the boy run to the oasis, sand whipping up behind him as he did.

Slowly they reached the oasis as well, seeing the boy half submerged in the water as he lowered his pouch into it. They growled towards him again.

The boy turned around and smiled. "It's okay, Phushi, I tested it."

The creature sank their head into the water, letting gulps enter their mouth before swallowing. The familiar taste made them drink faster, closing their eyes as they felt the plants on their back revitalising.

"It's nice, isn't it? Been so long without water."

Phushi looked up at him; he had climbed out of the water and looked towards the sky, where colours made by the sun slowly made way for the darkness of the night. They growled in agreement before continuing helping themselves.

Hamiex looked down at his friend. The plants gave off a faint blue and green shade in the light of the sinking sun, but he knew the next day they would be vibrant green again. Their turquoise scales would be such a contrast with the almost bright red sand, but Hamiex loved looking at it.

The sands had been getting a lighter colour as the moved more to the north - it was more brown toned, but  still  lighter than Hamiex's own skin. The sand had been getting harder, fields of stone breaking up the desert before making way for sand again. Despite that, the red sand had swallowed more of the desert since last year. They had to move back up north sooner as well, the heat becoming unbearable for Phushi and their plants. They could handle a lot of heat, but even other Phushades were forced to move back up sooner than they wanted.

An oasis like the one they were at now had become rare over the last few years. They had made this journey multiple times - about four to be exact - but the usual locations for water had dried up, and some of the spots had either been claimed or completely overrun by other creatures.

He wondered if they would be able to make it all the way to Phushi's birth place. More than once now he had to ask Phushi for food, and his friend had reluctantly given him some. He couldn't wait to pay them back once they got there. He had grabbed some plants he thought were edible from the bank, but he feared it wouldn't be enough to last long enough until the next oasis.

Splashing noises below him made him jump from his thoughts. Phushi was climbing out of the water, heading the direction they were supposed to go next.

"Hey wait for me!" But the creature kept going its own pace as Hamiex jumped into the water.

He scooped up hands filled with water to get a few more drinks before their long journey to the north. As he climbed out of the water he shook out his clothes, almost the same way Phushi did when they had too much water on their back. Hamiex smiled at himself before running to join his companion.

Together they walked the rest of the night, seeing sandstorms barely miss them as they went on in the moonlight.

Rocks had replaced sand for a long while, the ground cracking open at places to reveal a hole of nothingness - something you could fall in seemingly forever. The cracks also created small cliffs of pointed rocks and flat plateaus, as if the ground around them had sank to create the new environment.

They had been walking all night, the cold grip of the desert had kept them both awake before the moon gave way for the sun.

They entered a pass between two cliffs, the cold air around them becoming almost unbearable as the light of the rising sun escaped them completely.

An uncomfortable feeling send shivers down the boy's back - making him walk closer to Phushi in a reflex.

The creature looked at him and nodded as he went in front, their tail folding  around him  almost like it was protecting Hamiex.

"Is this the right way Phushi?" he whispered. The creature growled in agreement. "O-okay, I trust you."

A loud screech of rocks sliding against each other rung in their ears, before scratching noises against rocks made way to announce the presence of another creature near them. It pierced their ears, going right through Hamiex' hands as he tried to block out the noise.

He saw Phushi shaking their head as the sound stopped, before they both looked around to find whatever had caused such howling screeches.

It hadn't been the sound of scratching rocks however; a beast - large and mighty - stood on top of the highest cliff, looking over them with a sense of superiority. It had broad shoulders with narrow hips, its fur a colour of peaches with pastel pink stripes along its back and legs. The colour of its legs faded from light peach to a sandy beige, its back limbs having more beige than its front ones. Its face looked like the cats of old, with plump features and a big brown spot to indicate its nose. Big, fluffy-looking ears rose up in curiosity, its colouration the same as its legs.

Hamiex cocked his head at the creature. "Hey, it's actually kind of cute-"

The sides of its face opened up with a slit in the middle, to reveal razor-sharp teeth as a screech erupted from it. It paralysed Hamiex, the shock making his entire body shake before he too opened his mouth.

"NOT CUTE! VERY NOT CUTE!" And he ran as fast as his legs could take him. He heard Phushi running behind him and - looking back - saw that the creature had not followed them. Rather, it had disappeared entirely.

"Wait Phushi wasn't it-" Another loud scream entered his ears, shattering his drums as tears sprung into his eyes. He could feel the creature right behind him, and almost waited for a blow to come; but it never did.

He heard an unfamiliar sound behind him, followed by the whining of a hurt animal. As he turned around he saw Phushi standing between him and their attacker, blood dripping from their mouth as they screamed back at the creature. It was a howling screech, one that made Hamiex cower just like the creature before him.

Hamiex had never heard Phushi like that before; never had they been in a situation he couldn't defend himself, where he would need the assistance of his friend.

The vile creature growled and whined back, but it didn't dare to come closer to them again. After another growl it limped away, blood leaking into the fur of its left front leg.

Hamiex stood idly by, waiting for it to be out of sight before running up to Phushi. He tried to ask if they were okay, but his words were drowned by the sight of their front leg. Three clean slices were cut across their skin. But as Hamiex tried to help them - even though the cuts looked superficial - his friend winced away from him, protecting its right leg from the boy ' s caring hands.

"Phushi, you have to let me help you!" But the creature growled at him; a hurtful sound Hamiex hadn't heard from his friend ever before, one that made him back off immediately.

They walked on in silence, Phushi limping the entire way as they went through the passage. The boy couldn't help but try and get close, but each attempt was met with the same growl as before.

"Phush… are you angry at me?" he whispered, staring in front of him at the sky. He twisted his fingers around, fidgeting with his joints as he thought about the next few days.

If he couldn't help Phushi they might be late for the summer feasts, and it would be all his fault. The thoughts left his head as they responded to him. A soft growl, almost as low as his own whisper had been. It made him smile at the creature. "I'm sorry for your leg." He let out an awkward laugh.

Phushi shook their head, then cocked it towards a nearby rock.

"You okay?" They cocked their head again. "Let's set up camp."

Not much had to be done as the rock was overhead, he only had to barricade the entrance with sand before he was done. He started up the fire and made his dinner, all the while his friend kept looking at him. Hamiex always wondered what they were thinking about, or if they even had thoughts more complex than his own. He couldn't tell from their time together, all he knew was they had made a strong bond over the years.

He handed some of the food to his friend, who reluctantly took a bite from it. It was as if they didn't want to eat the boys food, but Hamiex kept persisting they ate all of it. Drinking was even worse as they kept refusing to even take a sip.

"Phushi, you need your strength!" he said as the creature pulled their head away again.

They growled dismissive in return. "I don't need it, you do, so come on! Drink!" He had to almost force the water down.

He knew Phushades didn't like it when their independence was stripped away. They could become violent towards even the kindest of creatures. But Hamiex knew he wasn't doing that at all, he was trying to make Phushi less stubborn about it.

The creature growled dismissive again, turning their head away each time Hamiex came close. The boy stopped after a while, leaving the pouch at Phushi's side as he ate the rest of his food.

They hadn't moved in a while, silently watching as their companion ate whatever was left. "I'm going to see where we have to go tomorrow evening." And with that Hamiex went outside.

The stars were beautiful tonight, as they always were. Bright, with almost a thousand different colours made him feel almost at ease when the cold desert winds gripped around his clothes. The constellations welcomed him with open arms, some not fully formed yet as their stars were too weak to conquer the remaining light of the sun. The others directed Hamiex to a constellation known as the "Path of the Arrow".

It was a big star always pointing north, with stars directly above it as if it flowed out of the star, or were remains of an even bigger star from the past. Millions of stars almost swirling above the so-called "Arrowtip" with a few stars making it look like a tip at the end had giving it its name. Sometimes it looked like other constellations were swallowed by it, ever expanding the path but still always ending in the tip.

Hamiex hadn't noticed his friend coming up to him, pouch in their jaw as they nudged the boy gently. They looked apologetic towards the boy as they handed over the pouch, waiting for Hamiex to give them a few gulps before he took some himself.

"They're beautiful aren't they?" A happy growl. "Yeah I think so too."

**Author's Note:**

> If this gets enough views/kudos I might talk more about this world because I got quite attached to this one (or at least the animals in it)


End file.
